Archbishop Quigley’s Prediction of Catholic Rule
With what is said on another page by a French writer regarding the menace to this country from the growth of the papacy, it is fitting to note also the following prediction made by Archbishop Quigley in the course of a recent address at Chicago, concerning the length of time which would be required to make the United States a Catholic nation:— Since I have seen the Western parochial schools, I have come to the conclusion that in fifty years, if things go on as I see they are going at present, the Catholic Church will actually own the West. I have had the opportunity to see a few of the churches and schools in the diocese, and I have gained some idea of what a magnificent Catholic city Chicago is. Since I came here, I have visited Joliet, and in that city I visited one of the parochial schools. It was the first time I had seen a parochial school in the West. Within twenty years this country is going to rule the world. Kings and emperors will soon pass away, and the democracy of the United States will take their place. The West will dominate the country, and what I have seen of the Western parochial schools has proved that the generation which follows us will be exclusively Catholic. When the United States rules the world, the Catholic Church will rule the world. The people of the East do not know of the importance of Chicago in the West. The Catholics know that Chicago is one of the great Catholic centers of the world. In fifty years Chicago will be exclusively Catholic. The same may be said of Greater New York and the chain of big cities stretching across the continent to San Francisco. It has never forced itself on me— this conviction — as it has since I have been in Chicago. I am simply overcome by it.